章 27: Merciless master
Falcon gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down in his throat at his master's question at him. What was he going to reply?
"Answer quickly, Falcon. Don't keep me waiting here," Damien spoke to him intimidatingly, his voice even. The few years he came to work for this man in this very mansion as the butler, Falcon had not once heard this man raise his voice. But maybe if he raised his voice it would be less dangerous than his smiling that sent chills down her spine.
Falcon bowed his deeply hoping his master wouldn't cut his neck off his body for the simple mistake, "Master Damien, Lady Maggie had the girl out of the room when I was asked to supervise the kitchen," as simple as the matter was, a lot of pureblooded vampires didn't allow room for mistakes.
He held his breath to hear the young master of the mansion say,
"What?" It wasn't that Damien hadn't heard it. He had heard the butler speak quite clearly. The poor butler if possible took further air into his lungs before letting it go, "How difficult is it for you to carry one single task that I give? Let me go see the girl," the butler couldn't tell how relieved he was when Damien walked up the large stairs, his long legs covering the area quickly before he came to stand in front of the door.
All he did was play with the doorknob before opening it. He hadn't placed a lock purposely wanting to see if his mouse would try to run away, though she didn't run away he didn't miss the point that she had disobeyed his words so blatantly. The girl sure had a nerve testing his patience over and over again.
He had left the door unlocked in a way to test her while also to see if he could add to her existing punishment which hadn't been handed down yet. Opening the door, he stepped inside to find the girl who was staring and looking at something outside the window in the ridiculous dress he had made her wear into. It was good that she looked terrible right now. The worse, the better it was always.
She was yet to notice him in the room. Walking to stand right behind her, he saw the reflection of her face which was reflected through the window where the atmosphere outside along with the sky had turned dark.
Penny had been thinking about what Maggie said about the corruption of hearts when her eyes finally fell on the man and she gasped loudly out of surprise. Spinning on her heel, she faced him. Staring right into Damien Quinn's red eyes which stood out the most in his face. His eyes had the fleck of curiosity as if he were trying to find something.
"How was your day, Penelope?" she saw the way his lips moved to speak to her. Her eyes switched to go back and forth from his eyes and lips before settling completely on his eyes as she caught sight of him catching her own sight.
"It was okay," she whispered below his overbearing presence as he didn't give her much space.
He hummed in response, "Look at this," he said lifting his hand up to touch her hair which made her momentarily flinch, "Don't be scared, little mouse. I won't eat you. Not right now at least," he said dusting off the little web which had got stuck on her hair, "Do you remember the instructions I gave you before I left?"
Penny had hoped he wouldn't have found out but it seemed like someone did inform him about her stepping out of the room. She wondered if it was the butler who had informed his master as he was the only one who had caught her and Lady Maggie walking out before she had headed back to the room she was in one now.
"I didn't go willingly with my own mind. I couldn't refuse Lady Maggie when she asked me to help her," Penny gave him the details before he could drag out the story of what happened torturously slow to his amusement.
"What did I ask you and what are you speaking of?" Damien sang before patting the side of her head as one would with their pet dog or cat, "But now that you have spoken about it I will let you off on this one."
Internally she frowned where she continued to stare at him. She did nothing wrong and it was true that she found it rather not pleasant to refuse his sister's offer who had wanted to take her out of here for some time which she was thankful for.
Wait, she thought to herself. Did he just say 'this one'? As his words sank in, she saw that smile of his which tugged on the side of his lips as the devil had possessed.
"I cannot look away from what you did to the dress," she heard him say, "I have a very good memory which is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Come, little mouse. It is time to punish you. Follow me," he turned himself ready to walk before he looked at her over his shoulder, "Come. The faster it is the better.
Penny didn't want to follow him but what choice did she have here? The words 'You reap what you sow' came to hit her hard and she told herself to behave and not act out impulsively. But at the same time, it was hard not to retaliate in response to his actions.
Without a word of defiance, she followed the pureblooded vampire. Walking through the corridors where the lamps were lit in the time of evening burning bright enough to make the place visible for anyone. She could see the fire burn and its luminescence spreading warmly on the walls, some which flickered in the air as if it were sizzling.
"...right?"
What? Her eyes snapped at Damien who was walking in front of her and had asked her a question which she hadn't heard.
"What is with the peasants not answering quickly? Has your brain frozen like the winter?"
Penny didn't know if she should tell him that she hadn't heard him speak or the question he had asked her. A little worried that the punishment would grow, she nodded at him and said, "Yes, master Damien."
"What a wonderful spirit you have," stated Damien, glancing at her and then humming something under his tone.
Passing through the rooms and getting down the stairs which had a red carpet laid out on it, Penny followed Damien with her bare feet. Catching sight of some of the maids who passed her a look of pity before going on their way as if she were a sheep that was going to be beheaded soon. And the more she thought about their expression, the more worried and anxious did she turn as it seemed like whatever this punishment was, it wasn't going to take place inside the mansion but outside as they headed towards the double door of the entrance.
When the carpet stopped, her feet touched the cold marble floor which felt utterly cold beneath her feet to spread the coldness throughout her body making her shiver. Was he going to make her clean the doors? She definitely didn't mind that, thought Penny to herself. She was more than glad to do it, but when they crossed over the main threshold to walk she was greeted to the chill air which even the jute-like dress that she wore didn't prevent it from the weather.
"Now go pluck the weeds out that have grown around the bushes and plants. I need them all pulled out and cleaned," she heard Damien instruct her, "You have all night to do it but if I catch you slacking. I will make sure to worsen the punishment. The more rules you break the more will the level of punishment increase so make sure to think twice before you do something I extremely dislike. Disobedience will not be tolerated."
It made her feel that this man was punishing her for also stepping out of the room. Though he had said he wasn' going to, it didn't mean he wouldn't add into her current tab of errors.
Was this what she had agreed to?
It was raining and not to forget it was dark. How was she supposed to pull out weeds when she couldn't see the ground that well.
"With your excellent eyesight, it shouldn't be a problem at all. Go on now," Damien placed his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to step down the stairs.
"It's raining," she pointed out for him to slightly tilt his head to the side.
"I am not blind, Penny. I can see it. Don't worry, the rain will stop in an hour," he responded back nonchalantly.
The fever had only left her body and he was planning to have her drenched in the rain again until she would pass out? This man was cruel and heartless! Gritting her teeth, she stepped down one stair and then another before she finally touched the concrete ground which wasn't smooth. Making her way away from the main entrance and towards the garden where the rain finally started to fall on her. It wasn't a drop or two but a good amount of water droplets that felt like someone was throwing on her.
While Penny made her way, the butler Falcon had seen the door to be open. Wondering which idiot of the servant had opened the doors, he walked towards it to find his master standing there looking at something in the garden. Curious, he treaded his footsteps carefully. Glancing at the garden his eyes widened to find his master's slave out there.
What was she doing in this rain? Not having the audacity to question or ask his master, he decided to step back but Damien had already sensed his presence.
"Where are you going, Falcon?" his master questioned making him stop in his tracks. It made him wonder if there was anyone at all who had sneaked up on him without his notice until now.
"I was passing by, Master Damien. Apologies for that," the butler bowed his head.
"Go have Lady Maggie come here. Tell her sweet brother summons her right now," the butler bowed again, obliging his master's words and almost scurrying away from there so that he could get Lady Maggie to save him. If there was anyone who could speak sense to his master, it was the elder sister but sometimes that failed epically. Most of the maids and other house servants went to the eldest daughter of Quinn to save their necks just because she appeared faintly sensible compared to the other members of the family. Working here was nothing less than walking on an eggs shell where one often worried about doing something and having their throat slit.
章 28: Pulling weeds
Penny stood in the rain, her eyelashes dripping with the water that slid from her wet hair to her forehead and then down to her eyes.
If she wasn't sure before, she was now that the man who had bought her from the black market was a demon in disguise. A man who was cold and evil with no heart in his chest. It wasn't just that it was dark but the rain in the air around her made it impossible to spot weeds that when Penny had bent down, crouching down on the grass to pull weeds by mistake she had pulled out the good plants which Damien had already planned to further increase her punishment.
But as Damien had said, the rain did stop making the cold wind blow on her making her shiver in the dress which was not only drenched wet but also heavy to move in as it retained a lot of water.
Now able to see the land much more clearly she looked down at what she had plucked out a grimaced internally. Kill me, thought Penny to herself. Hiding the good ones, she moved to another patch. If anyone would ask her she would blame it on the rain. There was nothing to worry, she consoled herself. The garden was well-groomed so there weren't many weeds or the unnecessary plants that had grown in here.
Penny didn't dare to look around to see if Damien was still standing there, who knew if the devil was having his own fun at the expense of her demise.
Thanks to the rain the soil had considerably loosened which made it easier to pull the weeds out while she was being careful on the actual plants. The last thing she wanted to be was Damien picking more faults in what she was doing. While Penny was working on the task which Damien had given her, Lady Maggie had arrived at the word of the butler who had come to deliver the news that her brother was asking for her presence at the door of the mansion.
Lady Maggie hadn't noticed the human who was in the garden and she turned to speak to her brother once she stepped out of the mansion, "You called for me, Damien?"
"I did," Damien turned to his right to meet his elder sister's eyes, a smile on his lips which looked tranquil.
Maggie's brows furrowed and she wondered what had got her brother in such a good mood. Seeing something move in the corner of her eyes, her eyes shifted to look at the garden to find the girl there, "What are you making her do this late in the night?"
"What do you think, sister?" Damien let his sister guess to see the frown on her face deepen.
"She's wet with water. She'll catch a cold," the vampiress took two steps forward when she heard her brother speak behind her.
"Bring her back and she will face the same consequences your dear Sven did."
Maggie's feet froze in mid-air and she placed it on the ground, "You wouldn't," she turned, facing her brother as they stared at each other. Thinking about what happened to the servant named Sven, she clutched her hand tightly into fists.
"Try me. There's nothing in testing, maybe you wouldn't be within your boundaries of what to do and not. Go on," he taunted his elder sister, his eyes sparkling and his lips holding a smile which was filled with its own smugness.
"Show some consideration to the lives, Damien. They are people with feelings."
"Don't patronize me, dear sister. Especially you should be the last one to tell it to me," Damien continued to smile seeing his sister starting to reflect what she said while also remembering their past together.
"It was an unintentional episode that took place before. You know it well, why won't you let it go?"
"Why not? Just because you are my sister you want me to let go of the fact that you killed a maid here for your own anger? Why because the man you loved, his interest was stolen by a servant. How did it feel? To have the blood on your hands and have the man you love to look at you with so much hate that will make you want to kill yourself," he continued to taunt her a look of pain crossing over her features before she hid it behind her face.
"Taunt as much as you want brother but you are no less to me," Lady Maggie's voice was rigid as she spoke.
"Never claimed to be otherwise," Damien smiled, his eyes shifting back to look at his pet who shivered there outside in the garden, "This is just a reminder."
"You found out about me taking her to the attic. Why are you punishing her on my behalf?" Lady Maggie asked her brother who was enjoying the look in front of him.
"Obviously I cannot punish you, you are my beloved blood sister. And you might not even react, where is the joy in that?" It was the truth. Even if Damien inflicted any pain right now, the pain and annoyance caused wouldn't be enjoyable where there was a chance of her going to make the same mistake of not listening to him.
"She's going to fall sick."
"I will nurse her back to health but don't forget it is because of you that she suffers right now," his head slightly fell back when the cold breeze moved towards them, with his eyes closed he felt the air to open his eyes and look at his sister.
"It is your fault, Maggie. The girl doesn't know but you know well how much I hate intruders up in the attic which includes you."
"She wasn't only your mother but mine," defended Maggie to hear Damien give out a dry laugh before he stopped to look at her seriously.
"I haven't forgotten that. But where were you when our father was about to throw everything that belonged to her? Standing there waiting to see it burnt? You were her daughter and you are my sister but there are a few things we need to draw the line, Sister Maggie. I love you but not enough to share what you couldn't protect," said Damien which Maggie nodded her head.
"Drawing lines and having your own rules are fine but they aren't for everyone not for your loved ones at least, Damien. Sometimes we don't have enough understanding at the point of time. You were more practical than I ever have been, not giving yourself the emotions one needs," Lady Maggie gave a glance towards the girl who was in the garden.
As if they never had the serious conversation going on, Damien said, "Is she planting trees or pulling out weeds that are taking so much time," he commented twisting his lips unhappily. The weeds had been a week ago which meant not many had grown since then. Was his pet testing his patience again?
"It is dark, what do you expect?" Lady Maggie stated the obvious for him to roll his eyes.
Damien didn't bother to continue the conversation with his sister and walked straight to where Penny had crouched in front of a bush.
The sky was heavy with clouds to illuminate any light on the lands of Bonelake but the little light that came from the lanterns that were hung all around the mansion gave the little light she needed to see what was near her. Catching sight of the long shadow of the man in front of her, her head snapped to look at Damien who stood behind her.
Not able to keep her thought to herself with her head feeling slightly heavy due to the wet clothes and hair, she blurted out, "You're going to pull the weed with me?"
"Sure," the man came to sit next to her which surprised Penny to no end. Her mouth slightly parted when he came and sat next to her, looking at the plants in front of them. This man was one of a kind, she thought to herself when he looked at the plants to say, "Do you want to get killed? What's with pulling good plants," he looked to his left with his hands that rested between his legs.
And though he had scolded her, the threat didn't feel a bit like a threat where she was supposed to be scared.
This man was sitting in her level, talking to her while looking at the same plants as her. Damien as if noticing that his pet wasn't listening to him snapped his fingers right in front of her which brought her back to reality.
Penny who was drenched in the rain felt a shiver run down her spine when she found him staring into her eyes which had turned dark due to the scarce light. Damien, on the other hand, saw her cheeks that had flushed pink in color. Her breathing was deep as she inhaled and exhaled. Hair that was completely wet that stuck to her scalp and some that were errant as they began to dry, looking untamed. They sat so close that Damien didn't have to put too much effort in listening to her heartbeat which was beating in a quiet rhythm which was heard clearly in the quiet night they were surrounded by crickets.
Penny was already looking towards him and with him who was next to her, she felt as if he started to lean forward, his face moving bit by bit closer to her and her eyes widened at the close proximity they shared.
Damien caught sight of her lips where her lips pressed against each other before letting them go unconsciously. Looking like the scared mouse she was, he got even closer, angling his face close to her when she spoke out of pure nervousness,
"Master Damien."
"Hmm?" Damien was still looking at her to hear Penny utter the words,
"You are stamping the plant beneath your feet. That's not the weed," she gulped as her heart began to pick its pulse, leaving her head dizzy where she had to blink several times to get back her consciousness right.
"Says the one who has been pulling out all my good plants. Are you stupid or a plain idiot?" he asked her pulling himself back, "Utterly useless. Look at these," he pointed at a plant as if he hadn't leaned close to her. He pointed at the little plant which was yellow in color, "This isn't a decoration plant but something that is going to screw the other plants that are around it.
Lady Maggie who was standing far away from them couldn't see anything as to what they were doing except that they were sitting where she herself was perplexed with her brother. But her brother never left a chance to confuse a person. Her heart felt heavy to what Damien had to say about the past, leaving her utterly speechless. She was regretful for what happened and maybe no matter how much she wanted to change there could be nothing done to rectify it but that didn't mean the future wasn't there to avoid something that had occurred in the past.
She knew her brother, after all, she had been around him since he was born, she was his elder sister. The attic was a special place where her mother's belongings and their childhood was stored before the previous lady of the Quinn had passed away. Maggie had been an emotional woman in the past but she had changed her ways but the same couldn't say about Damien.
She hoped the girl who was sitting next to him would survive his actions.
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